Leadership Column: Hate letters – Councillor Afzal

Councillor Asaf Afzal, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Public Protection

I have been made aware of letters entitled ‘Punish a Muslim Day’, being posted at locations across the UK.

I am horrified by this. The people of Derby, and the rest of the world, regardless of background, race or religion, should be able to live their lives free from fear or abuse.

Any attempt to cause fear and divide our communities is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Council or the police.

At this stage, I can confirm that there have been no reports of letters in Derby, if anyone has received such a letter, please try not to handle it or the envelope, and report it to police who, led by the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, are robustly investigating all incidents and treating them as hate crimes.

We are committed to ensuring the safety of our communities and I advise that people remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour immediately to police on 999, or 101 if it’s a non-emergency.

If you have suffered anti-Muslim incident, Tell MAMA can offer you free support and advice.